The Get Along Gang (TV series)
Canadian studio Nelvana, in association with Scholastic Entertainment, Those Characters from Cleveland, and LBS produced a pilot episode of The Get Along Gang, which was broadcast on the Nickelodeon cable network on May 6, 1984. The plot revolved around the twelve members of the gang as they try to win a scavenger hunt despite Catchum's cheating and their own competition-fueled infighting. Although all twelve characters were involved, only the six core gang members (Montgomery, Dotty, Zipper, Bingo, Woolma, and Portia) had speaking roles. Among the voice talents in the pilot were Charles Haid (then of Hill Street Blues) as Montgomery and Dave Thomas (fresh from his days on SCTV) as Leland. The pilot also aired in syndication nationwide during the summer of 1984. John Sebastian, famous for working for Nelvana at the time, wrote and sang for the pilot. For reasons unknown, in between the pilot episode and the series premiere on CBS, production of the series was handed over to DIC Entertainment, a French animation studio. Thirteen half-hour episodes were produced, each containing two eleven-minute segments. As with the pilot, the focus was on the six core members of the gang, with the other six members making very sporadic appearances. Out of those six, only Braker Turtle had a regular speaking role. The show returned to CBS in reruns from January–June 1986. From September 1986 until August 1987, all thirteen DIC-produced episodes were rerun as part of a short-lived syndicated cartoon package called Kideo TV. Reruns of the series later aired on The Family Channel (now Freeform) from 1990–1993 and on the children's programming block of Pax TV (now Ion Television) from 1999–2001 the Pilot Episode of the 1984 The Get Along Gang aired in the year 2000 on other syndicate channels. It is believed that The Little Rascals animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera, which aired from 1982 to 1984, may have inspired the idea for this series, only with animals instead of humans; plus, the Get Along Gang's hometown is Green Meadow, while Greenpoint was the hometown of The Little Rascals. Rebroadcasts After CBS ended the series, the series was rebroadcast on the same network during the 1985-86 season, towards the end of the network's Saturday morning cartoon block, airing immediately after The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show when the latter was in its second season. It could be inferred that the franchise's decline in popularity in 1985 may have led to the declining ratings, and eventually cancellation of the series. Trivia *This series involved the use of sound effects used frequently in Hanna-Barbera cartoons, and some were previously used in segments on Sesame Street. Voices * Bettina Bush - Dotty Dog * Timothy Gibbs - Catchum Crocodile, Additional Voices * Georgi Irene - Woolma Lamb, Additional Voices * Nick Katt - Leland Lizard * Robbie Lee - Zipper Cat, Additional Voices * Sherry Lynn - Portia Porcupine, Additional Voices * Sparky Marcus - Montgomery Moose, Additional Voices * Chuck McCann - Additional Voices * Scott Menville - Bingo Beaver, Additional Voices * Don Messick - Officer Growler, Mr. Hoofnagel, Mayor Badger, Braker Turtle, Additional Voices * Frank Welker - Braker Turtle, Additional Voices Episode guide # Zipper's Millions / Half a Map Is Better Than None # Caboose on the Loose / Montgomery's Mechanical Marvel # Head in the Clouds / Hunt for the Beast # Woolma's Birthday / The Get Along Detectives # The Get Along Gang Go Hollywood / Them's the Brakes # A Pinch of This, a Dash of That / Bingo's Tale # Engineer Roary / Pick of the Litter # Nose for News / The Lighthouse Pirates # The Wrong Stuff / Uneasy Rider # The Get Along Gang Minus One / Camp Get Along # Bingo's Pen Pal / Follow the Leader # School's Out / The Bullies # That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles / Snowbound Showdown Category:TV Series